Spring 2 - Week 5

We started the week by taking part in the Junior Jam lessons. After developing our shooting skills, we had a penalty shoot-out where we took turns to be the goalkeeper. We understand how important it is to keep our eyes on the ball whether we are shooting or saving the goals. During our music lesson, we sang a range of songs as a choir. Some of the songs were upbeat and others were a little slower. We needed to control our voices when singing the songs. We then used the iPads to create an animation using our computing skills.

During our maths lessons this week, we began by converting units of measurements. We thought about which calculation we needed to complete in order to convert between a range of measurements. We then solved some problems using these skills. Towards the end of the week, we recapped our learning about time. We started by telling the time using our small clocks to show what we know about past and to; we then moved onto problem-solving using timetables.

In English, we have completed our romance stories. We have used some amazing vocabulary, followed a success criteria and edited our writing to make it the best that we can. After working so hard to write our writing, we used our neatest handwriting to write our stories on special display paper. We are so proud of our final pieces!

Our history lesson this week was based around a Viking village. We used the internet to research what life would have been like living in a Viking village. We thought about the types of houses; the jobs that people would have had; the ranking of people within the villages; what role the children played and what it might have looked like. We used some helpful videos to assist our understanding of a Viking village and mind-mapped the information we had found.

On Thursday afternoon, we took part in our gymnastic lesson with Coach Catherine. We worked in groups to complete exercises on an assault course. This really tested our fitness levels as we had to prepare to jump, run and hold a handstand for 30 seconds. The 30 seconds lasted a lot longer than we thought it would! After our lesson, we came back into class and made Mother’s Day cards ready to take home on Friday.

Year Six have been working extremely hard this week to build our knowledge in grammar and different areas of maths. We have taken part in different revision sessions and have worked so hard to use the skills that have been taught. We have also been completing a number of reading tasks to become more confident when answering SATs-style questions.

On Friday we enjoyed a non-uniform day where we donated chocolate for the Easter Bingo event that will be happening on Wednesday!

“I enjoyed making the Mother’s Day cards where we could be creative. We thought about how important it is to celebrate everything our mums do for us.” – Laci

“I found history helpful because it helped me realise what a Viking lifestyle would have been like.” – Olly

“I loved gymnastics because I was able to learn about exercise and I learnt some new exercises that I am going to use to warm up before I play football.” – Charlie

“I can now confidently tell the time and I will use this skill when I start high school.” – Lola

“The gymnastics helped me learn new skills and it really made me test the limits of my fitness.” – Amelia

Spring 2 - Week 4

During our English lessons this week, we have started a piece of independent writing about children who met underneath a beautiful tree, and they grow old together. We have written the first two paragraphs where we have chosen our vocabulary carefully and have used some amazing phrases to describe the setting. After using the inspiration of the image for our writing (see below), we have thought about how our story is going to develop.

In maths, we have explored how to calculate the ratio of unequal amounts. We have then used times tables to calculate the ratios if the numbers were larger. Towards the end of the week, we looked at a range of ingredients and scaled the up and down depending on how much of the item needed to be made. We needed to use our knowledge of fractions and times tables to scale up and down the ingredients.

During our history lesson this week, we learnt about what the Vikings used to trade with other countries and why these items needed to be traded. We looked at which products were imported, and which were exported from Scandinavia and could explain why these items could not be found locally.

We have been taking part in some revision for maths and English this week. Each day has had a different focus, whether it is subtraction, adding and subtracting fractions or using capital letters and full stops. We have worked extremely hard to complete these tasks and have always asked for help if it was needed.

We also took part in our gymnastics lesson with Coach Catherine. We have worked with our partners to create a sequence of several different movements and have seamlessly put them together. Some of us were even brave enough to show the rest of the class!

On Monday afternoon, we have continued with our Junior Jam lessons. First, we have learnt how to pass the ball to develop our football skills. We then had a music lesson where we sang together as a choir. Lastly, we use the iPads in our computing lesson to develop our skills in creating our own advertisements for our chosen item.

On Friday afternoon, we enjoyed our attendance treat for the week. We got to spend the afternoon watching a film because of our efforts! Well done, everyone!

“In English, I have learnt how to use the language features to create paragraphs to write my romance narrative.” – Elsy

“I have enjoyed English this week because I have learnt how to spell the trickier words that I have struggled with, and I have used them in my writing. I have also really enjoyed listening to the example text and I have been excited to see what happens next.” – Chloe

“I have learnt how to convert between fractions, decimals and percentages. This might help me when I grow up and have to find these of different amounts.” – Taylan

Spring 2- Week 3

This week, we have completed a set of SATs questions where we have worked incredibly hard to find the right answers when solving problems in maths, answering questions about a text in reading and using our spelling patterns in the grammar. Having completed the tests, we are now aware of what needs to be worked on and what our focuses will be on the countdown to May.

During our writing lessons this week, we planned a discovery narrative where we used our prior knowledge from the last half-term to use the knowledge and skills to include each detail in our plan. Our narrative was based on Charles Darwin embarking on his voyage across the world to Australia, where he discovered the platypus. After learning about the platypus in science, we included details that we know about the animal, such as which animal group they belong to.

In maths, we completed some revision work on multiplying and dividing by 10, 100 and 1000, solving word problems and shape before completing some new learning about how to calculate the mean (average) of a set of data. We also learnt why this is important in real life.

In science, we have learnt about the different food groups, including carbohydrates, proteins and fats. We then produced an informative leaflet to show our knowledge and understanding of why these groups help us have a balanced diet.

During our gymnastics lesson this week, we worked with a partner to create a sequence of movements. These movements have been built on throughout the last two weeks of lessons. We have learnt how to start and finish a sequence as gymnasts and incorporated this into our sequences.

In history this week, we read a piece of St Alcuin's letter that was left in the priory after the Vikings conducted a raid. We read what he had written and could form an opinion about the Viking warriors from what he had written. We couldn't believe how ruthless the Vikings were in a priory. 

On Friday, we enjoyed a party afternoon because we had 100% attendance! Our teamwork paid off and everybody took place in an afternoon of fun, which also included some yummy treats! Same again next week?

'I feel proud of myself after completing the SATs tests. I tried my hardest and it paid off.' 

'I can't believe we made it to 100% attendance and were the only class in the school to have a party!' 

'I find it fascinating that pieces of a letter were found from the Viking time period. It sounded like they were ruthless warriors who caused chaos.' 

Spring 2- Week 2

On Thursday, we took part in World Book Day. It was fantastic to see the creative ways costumes were created and the imagination that had been used. Our whole day was themed around ‘The Willow Pattern Story’, which is a beautiful story about how the famous pattern became the pattern that was used on the plates painted in a bright-blue colour. We wrote a Haiku about the story and then designed a willow pattern plate of our own retelling the story. These can be found hanging in our classroom. We were also joined by Year 1 and 2 from the infant school. They brought with them their favourite stories, and we spent time reading to them.

During our English lessons this week, we have continued to complete a number of writing tasks that will help when we write our explanation texts. We have used colons in a sentence to join clauses together, which has enabled us to add more detail into the topic being written about. We then had a focus on using relative clauses. First, we worked independently to write our own relative clause, including a relative pronoun. We then split the sentence into three sections. This enabled us to swap and share parts of our sentence with our peers. Some of the sentences were very funny!

In maths, we have continued with an algebraic theme. We have used our knowledge of formulae to find the nth term in a linear sequence. We needed to carefully use the inverse operation and recognise the difference between numbers to find the formulae that enables the sequence to continue. We have also had a focus on our timetables this week by all of us taking part in the 99 Club! We are very proud of the progress we have made in just one week!

In Science, we have finished our healthy lifestyle posters. Our posters inform the reader about how to live a healthy lifestyle and how important our diet and exercise is when living this way.

Our history lesson this week was based about Viking artefacts that have been found across the country. We learnt about how important artefacts are when telling us about the past and what life was like. Through using our inference skills and our knowledge of the Vikings, we were able to figure out and explore what the artefacts would have been used for and who they would have been used by.

We took part in another gymnastics lesson with Coach Catherine this week; we used a sequence of movements and thought carefully about how we move our bodies around on the mat. The coach was very proud of how well we worked together and encouraged each other when we felt a little nervous.  

Spring 2- Week 1

What a busy week we have had! Everyone has come back into school with an outstanding amount of determination and perseverance, ready to tackle the half term ahead. We have had a focus on developing our Oracy skills this week. We have used what we have learnt about anti-racism and have used sentence stems to debate about statements that have been given. This has enabled us to explore the art of speaking well and how we can show our listeners that we are giving them 100% of our attention.

In maths, we have started to learn about how we solve algebraic problems. We have worked with letters and shapes in our maths and have found the missing values. After realising that conducting the inverse operation is important, we steamed ahead and were able to also use our knowledge of BODMAS to find the value of the missing number.

During our English lessons, we have started to collect information about our chosen animal and have used the internet to research how the animal has adapted in order for it to still be alive today. Using the technical vocabulary, we can see how we will use these words and phrases to write our own explanation text. Our grammar lessons have had a focus of the subjunctive form. We can identify the words and phrases which enable the sentences to be identified as the subjunctive form.

We began our new history topic this week. We will be learning about the Vikings and Anglo-Saxons this half term and we cannot wait to find out more! First, we started by labelling a map of Europe with the countries that the Anglo-Saxons came from. We learnt that they came over on wooden boats and thought about reasons why they might have come over to Britain. After learning about the push and pull factors, we thought about which aspects pushed the Anglo-Saxons out of their countries and which factors pulled them into Britain. We were shocked to learn that the British king paid the Anglo-Saxons to come to Britain to defend the county after the fall of the Roman army.

In science, we have began our topic thinking about how we can keep a healthy lifestyle. We thought back to last half term and used our prior learning about how our body absorbs nutrients and how it is transported around our bodies. We created an informative piece of work to tell people about the importance of exercise and a healthy diet.

We have taken part in a gymnastic lesson with Coach Catherine this week. We focussed on the 9 shapes in which we will make with out bodies when taking part in the lessons for the half term. Using our listening skills, we worked together to form beautiful shapes with our bodies having discipline and determination.

'I really enjoyed gymnastics because we were taught new positions. We will build on these this half term with Coach Catherine.' - Laci 

'The research in English helped me understand how giant tortoises have adapted to their specific environment.' - Lola

'I found history interesting because I learnt about where the Anglo-Saxons travelled from and the pull and push reasons why.' - Olly 

'I embraced learning about algebra in maths. My determination helped me solve problems and I know that I am getting ready for the SATS.' - Taylan 

Spring 1- Week 6

The final week of half term has been a busy one! We have been working extremely hard to finish our topics and are feeling very proud of the work that has taken place at the start of 2025. We have ended the half term with a Lego day! We had a competition to see who could create the tallest tower. 

In maths, we have used our knowledge of the four operations to solve problems. We worked through some of the problems together and as a team, came to a conclusion about how to find the answer. We then used these skills to identify which calculations needed to take place in our own word problems. We then learnt about the order of operations (BODMAS) and how this helps us to calculate solutions in the right order. We really enjoyed the challenge!

We have concluded our English topic of discovery narrative this week. After working very hard for the past 5 weeks, we constructed a plan, which then enabled us to write our narrative. Our five paragraphs are about Charles Darwin and his companion, Captain Fitzroy, discovering a new animal in a new country. We have used expanded noun phrases, accurate speech punctuation, adverbials and semicolons to produce some fantastic writing. Our shared reading also linked to this topic, where we read extracts from ‘The Great Sea Dragon’. We discovered how the church objected to Darwin’s findings and the troubles he went through when trying to prove his theory of evolution.

In geography, we discovered where the world's natural resources originate from. We then created a presentation using Google Slides about a continent and its resources. The children will have the opportunity to present these as part of showing our learning at the end of the unit.

Science was an active lesson this week. We participated in some exercise to raise our heart rate before recording how it changed in the ten minutes after the exercise. We then plotted our results in a line graph to help us analyse the data and draw conclusions.

In PSHE, we learnt about how to protect ourselves from online ‘scams’. We discovered what is meant by a scam, then completed a quiz to show what we had learnt in the lesson.

We finished our self-portraits in art this week. We are incredibly proud of the end product and have completed an evaluation based on our finished pieces. 

“I understand which operations I should complete first when using BODMAS.”

“I was shocked about how high my heart rate went when I took part in intense exercise. It also dropped quite quickly when I started to rest.”

“After learning about scams, I am going to be even more careful when I’m on the computer or my phone.”

Spring 1- Week 5

This week in English, we have chosen an animal to write about in our discovery narrative. We collected expanded noun phrases, adjectives and thought about how the animal would move around the rainforest. This then helped when we planned each paragraph of our writing. Towards the end of the week, we used the planning format to map out what we will write about throughout the narrative. We then started to write our stories using the vocabulary and phrases we have collected. Through using semi-colons, hyphenated words and dashes, we have been added the detail needed to create a vivid picture in the reader’s mind.

In mathematics this week, we have looked at reflecting shapes and patterns across a mirror line and in all four quadrants of a coordinate grid. Our next topic is calculations, and we have looked at using efficient methods to solve problems and how to multiply decimals by whole numbers. We will continue with this next week! We’ve had some real success with these tricky topics and the children have enjoyed seeing the results of their hard work.

This week in geography, we explored the topic of food miles. We were shocked by the amount of miles that are added together so that we can enjoy the treats we like! After creating a table, we researched where different items travel from, whether they are exported from our country or whether they are imported into our country.

We finished our layered portraits in art this week. We added to our backgrounds using different textures and different types of paint, then stuck our drawn portraits in the middle. We are amazed by the outcomes we have created and have enjoyed looking at each other’s hard work.

In science we have conducted an investigation based on how our heart rate changes during different exercises. We first has to measure our resting heart rate, which meant we had to find it first! We then started with some low intensity exercises, working our way up to some very high intensity exercises. We found that the more intense the exercise, the higher our heart rate became, and our breathing changed. We recorded our findings in a table and compared them to our peers.  

‘I enjoyed the artwork because I could express myself by using the things I like within the piece.’ – Merida

‘During computing we have been using Word to create our own documents about a superhero. I think this skill will help me when I go to highschool.’ – Olly

‘In science we found out that the more exercises we did, the higher our pulse was.’ – Lola

‘The maths work really tested my knowledge about shapes. I now know how to translate shapes around a coordinate grid and how to use the grid to help reflect a shape.’ – Elsy

‘I can’t wait to write my discover narrative in English. I have collected some amazing vocabulary to use.’ – Chloe

‘I have collected some fantastic vocabulary and phrases to describe the animal I have chosen for my discovery narrative. I can’t wait to use this in my story.’ – Taylan

Spring 1- Week 4

Our focus for maths this week has been coordinates. We have applied our knowledge of plotting points in all four quadrants and learnt how to do this without a coordinate grid. We then moved on to translating shapes in all four quadrants, using left, right, up and down directions.  We needed to persevere and show great determination to master this tricky skill.

During our English lessons, we continued reading the story ‘On the Origin of Species’, where we wrote a descriptive piece describing the jungle. We worked hard to use expanded noun phrases within our writing to really create an image in the reader’s mind.

The heart was our focus in science this week. We  learnt about its functions before labelling the key features and describing their roles. We were surprised about where the heart is positioned and just how powerful this muscle is!

In geography we learnt about trade and where food comes from. Using maps, atlases and the internet, we discovered where our key ingredients are made and the impact the primary, secondary and tertiary suppliers have on world trade. Using the internet, we labelled a world map with different products and where they came from. We were shocked to find out where the items originated!

In art, we have started to create a background for our portraits by layering different textures. These portraits have taken weeks to create and the work that has been produced so far is amazing! We cannot wait to see the final products!

‘Mike Barret has really inspired me when creating the layered portrait. I didn’t know how to create texture before and now I understand’

‘At first I found the coordinate work difficult but once I understood how to read the axis, I understood.’

‘I didn’t realise how far my food had to travel before I could enjoy it. I was shocked to find out that the majority of mangoes are exported from Mexico.’

Spring 1- Week 3

We have started a new English topic this week. We began by looking at the front cover and making predictions about what the text will be about. Our new text is called ;On the Origin of Species; and is about Charles Darwin's voyage of discovery. After reading the first part, we are now invested in his journey and cannot wait to find out more. In shared reading, we have been summarising paragraphs by finding the topic sentences and writing our own sentences stating what the paragraph is about.

In maths, we started by learning about negative and positive numbers. We used number lines to help us answer the questions and solve the problems finding the difference between different temperatures. Next, we found the missing numbers in linear sequences. We needed to use addition and subtraction to help us to complete the sequences and even found the missing numbers involving decimals! We ended the week by finding coordinates in the four different quadrants.

After making blood last week in science, this week we created an information sheet that included all of the information we know about blood. We now know what the purpose of red blood cells, white blood cells, plasma and platelets are. Through using scientific language, we can explain the purpose of each of these in our blood.

In geography, we have explored the issues that happen around the world because of global supply chains. We had great discussions about climate change and shared our thoughts about what needs to change in order for the earth’s temperature to stop rising. We then used Google Earth to look at aerial images of huge factories and cotton farms around the world. We then researched the issues and displayed out findings in a double-page spread.

This week in art, we have drawn a self-portrait. After watching a tutorial from Mike Barrett, we used different textures and characteristics to create our drawings. We worked hard to think about how we could make our portraits unique. We are excited to create our backgrounds next week!

In PE, we played boccia. We worked in teams and had to perfect our technique in getting our ball as close to the red ball as possible. We then had a whole class game and the yellow team won!

We ended the week by thinking about the steps that need to be taken in order for us to reach our goals in PSHE. We thought about it as a totem pole where we build up to our target at the end. We realised that some of us are very close to reaching out goals, which is great!

‘When learning about the supply chain of a strawberry made me realise the journey strawberries take to make it to my fridge’ – Ruby

‘When we learnt about blood in science. I now know that the liquid part of blood is called plasma and that white blood cells fight off infection and viruses.’ – Maisie

‘In English, we have started a new book. The book is full of information about how animals have evolved. I have learnt about the voyage that he took to make his discoveries.’ – Roshan

‘In English, we have learnt about how Darwin’s discoveries changed history as he discovered how animals have adapted overtime to survive in their environment.’ – Denzell.

Spring 1- Week 2

Another amazing week for 6LV! The children have shown great ambition, teamwork and respect, not only to each other but to the visitors in school as well.

Our English lessons started by writing our newspaper reports. We needed to think carefully about what we know about formal writing and implement this into our paragraphs. After using our plan to help us stay on track, we constructed a newspaper article about one of the characters in our books. We tried incredibly hard to use semi-colons, hyphens to avoid ambiguity and a range of different pronouns when writing. At the end of the week, we wrote our articles out in a newspaper format. We were all very proud of the writing we had completed!

In maths, we have been ordering and comparing numbers. We worked hard to place positive and negative numbers on a number line and can now problem solve when using this skill. We have also been using our arithmetic skills to answer questions involving addition, subtraction, division and multiplication.

Our new geography topic had a great start. Our enquiry question for the unit is ‘What problems are there in global supply chains?’ and we started by looking at the supply chain of a strawberry. We learnt that a lot of our strawberries come from Morrocco and we now understand the journey that needs to be taken for them to reach our supermarkets. We were shocked by the amount of people and organisations that are involved in the importation of strawberries.

In science, we have looked at blood. We learnt about the different components that can be found in blood. We also made blood using a number of different items, including Cheerios, and this has given us a much better understanding of what is in our blood. We understand how oxygen and nutrients are carried around our bodies and why it is so important.

Our art lessons began by creating a fact file about the artist, Mike Barrett. We researched his work, his influences and his life which enabled us to create some beautiful fact files about him. We expressed our views about his art and shared our opinions. We cannot wait to create a piece of art based on his creations.

In PSHE, we have thought about our goals and how we can achieve them. We have set ourselves goals for school and for outside of school. After some great discussions, we understand that different people will have different steps in achieving their goals than others.

‘Researching the artist has really made me realise the different types of art that can be created.’

‘I didn’t realise the journey strawberries took before ending up in the fridge.’

‘I now understand how to write formally because of writing the newspaper report. I can spot the differences between formal and informal writing easily now.’

Spring 1 - Week 1

The weather has been determined to stop us from learning this week! However, we have conquered the snow, sleet and ice, and we have had a fantastic first week back. We have started the Spring Term with ‘Unity and Diversity Week’ where we have celebrated many different religions. We began by creating a poster using information about what unity and diversity means and how we relate this to our everyday lives. After this, we created a presentation using Google Slides about a chosen religion that we presented to the whole class. Everybody learnt something about a different religion and were even tested by quizzes! Lastly, we have explored how to show respect and tolerance to other religions in school and in the wider community. We made a respect and unity pledge which was a promise to always show respect and understanding for other faiths and cultures.

Our English lessons this week have been based around ‘A Story like the Wind’ and we have started to collect ideas for our newspaper article, which is the final writing outcome using this story. We thought carefully about using reported and direct speech in our paragraphs and have used a planning proforma to plan what we will include in each of our paragraphs. One of the most important things to consider was the headline of our article. We spent time thinking about using alliteration and how we can capture the reader’s attention with our words.

In Maths, we have explored statistics. We started the week by learning how to infer the information presented in a pie chart. After using our knowledge of fractions and percentages, we were able to solve problems and answer questions based on the information provided. Towards the end of the week, we have looked at a wider range of graphs, including line graphs, scatter bar charts and stacked bar charts. We used the scales on the axis to infer information and to convert amounts.

I liked the maths because I found it interesting. I enjoyed interpreting the data from each of the graphs .Denzell

I have found the maths interesting. I also liked learning about the different religions during RE Ruby

I enjoyed learning about the different religions in RE. Some of them I had never heard of, so it was nice to learn about them. Laci

‘In RE I enjoyed learning about the different religions. It was nice to know about the other religions other than the one I follow.’ – Taylan

Autumn Two - Week 8 

We have really enjoyed the last week of school before we finish for the Christmas break! It has been full of wonderful festivities and crafty activities.

We began the week continuing with our English topic, newspaper articles. After reading a number of different articles, we collected words and phrases that we thought were effective. We then used these phrases and put them into our own sentences that we can use in our articles. Using formal sentence structures, we created a short paragraph that will be used at the start of our newspaper articles. We will continue this after the Christmas break and we cannot wait to be newspaper reporters!

In maths, we have been investigating the area of parallelograms.  We now understand what the area of a shape is and what formula we need to use to find the area. As a part of our Christmas activities, we use co-ordinates to draw a picture of Rudolf.

This week, we have concluded our DT topic of funfair rides. We use KNEX to build our rides and used electric circuits to make them spin and to add lights. After problem solving, we figured out ways to hide the wires and ways to attach the motors to ensure our rides functioned properly.

Our RE topic of advent came to an end this week. We looked at what the third and fourth candle represents. We learnt about the conversation that was had between Angel Gabriel and Mary before the birth of baby Jesus. We used role play to act out the conversation and really get a feel of how they might have been feeling. We then looked closely at John the Baptist and thought about how we prepare for the arrival of someone special. Lastly, we thought about what God’s ideal world would look like. We all came to the conclusion that he wouldn’t want any chaos, hunger or climate change. We created a wonderful piece of art showing our ideas.

Our Christmas production took place on Wednesday evening. Thank you to all of the parents and children who took time to come back to school and present their poems. I am really proud of the children who worked incredibly hard to learn their lines to then stand up in front of the parents and present their poem and sing the songs. It really got me in the Christmas mood!

On Thursday, we spent time making Christmas cards and calendars. We used oil pastels to create our cards, and we blended the colours together to create a beautiful Christmas scene. During the afternoon, we had our behaviour treat! We spent some time in the hall taking part in Nerf Wars. We played a number of different games where we had to work together in teams and dodge the opposing team.

On Friday we celebrated the Autumn term coming to an end with a Christmas party. We spent some time in the hall with 6L and we played a number of different games.

Thank you for your continued support.  I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas break and I look forward to starting the new year in January.

Autumn Two Week 7

What a week this has been! We began with completing the last of the assessments. I am incredibly proud of what the children have achieved this week. Due to true perseverance, determination and commitment, the children have tried their absolute best to show what they have learnt throughout the term.

In maths, we have been learning about angles. We have learnt the amount of degrees that can be found in a triangle and we are able to now work out the measurement of a missing angle. We then investigated how we can classify shapes using Venn diagrams and Carroll diagrams. We had to really look at the shapes and use technical vocabulary to understand where the shapes should be placed in the diagrams.

Our English lessons have been based around a new topic of newspaper articles. We are still focussing on our story, ‘A story like the wind’ and will now use the information from the story to write our newspaper article. By understanding how to recognise informal and formal language, we have been able to confidently sort sentences into the right columns.

In science, we have used what we know about classification to create our own creatures. We thought carefully about which group our animal would belong to and what characteristics we could use. We had fun showing our friends our creations and could talk about which group it belonged to and why.

Our history topic came to an end this week. We have really enjoyed learning about evacuation during World War 2. Our final piece of work was a consolidation piece of writing where we recalled everything we have learnt about what happened to the children during the war. We enjoyed creating masterpieces by adding images and text boxes to our non-chronological reports.

We have started to build our fairground rides in DT. Next week, we will be adding electricity to our KNEX creations to make them have moving parts and lights. We had to solve problems and choose the correct pieces when building our rides.

On Thursday we had Christmas Jumper Day and it was time for our Christmas dinner! It was a lovely, festive time and our tummies were very happy for the afternoon!

We are looking forward to our last week of school. It will be full of festive activities and our behaviour treat! We cannot wait!

‘I enjoyed science because I got to create my own creature and I knew how to classify it’ – Nevaeh.

‘Science was my favourite. I enjoyed creating my own animal and classifying it using what I have learnt during the topic.’ – Chloe

‘DT helped me realise what my job would be like if I was an engineer.’ - Taylan

Autumn Two Week 6

Our week began with a Christmas theme! On Monday morning, we persevered through some tricky origami and made snowflakes to put up in the classroom and to take home. This was then followed by our trip to the pantomime, which was telling the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. We laughed, danced and sang along to the music that played throughout. We had an amazing time! As always, the children were impeccably behaved and were the perfect role models for the rest of the school.

This week has been our assessment week. We have worked through a number of tests in grammar, spelling, reading and mathematics. The whole class demonstrated true determination and perseverance when completing the tests, and I am incredibly proud of how they powered through, even when things proved tricky!

Our English has had a grammar focus this week. We have learnt about noun phrases and prepositions. Having learnt about these, we then put them into our own sentences used to describe an image.

In maths, we have worked on drawing angles accurately. This skill then enabled us to draw shapes accurately using a ruler and a protractor.

In science, we looked at an animal that was really hard to classify…the platypus! We looked at its lifecycle and then grouped the animal the best that we could using its characteristics and what we know about classification.

Our history topic has been based on our local area this week. We compared maps of Blackburn from 1939 to 2024 and looked at the similarities and differences between the two. We then read stories from adults in the local area who were evacuated as children to Blackburn. We were amazed that children were evacuated to Blackburn!

In DT, we had lots of fun designing our own rides ready to make them out of KNEX next week. We thought carefully about how we could possibly make the rides and what components we needed to include.

In RE, we learnt about the first theme of Advent. The children discussed what a Prophet is and then analysed some verses from the Bible and linked these to prophecies about Jesus’ birth.

Don’t forget it’s the Christmas fair next week (we have been busy making some wonderful things!)  and then our Christmas Production the week after.

“I like learning about angles because it is preparing me for when I get older.” – Elsy

“I enjoyed designing my ride in DT. If anyone wanted to be an engineer when they are older, it would really help.” – Maisie

“The pantomime was really good! It was full of joy and surprises. It was very funny as well.” – Olly

Autumn Two Week 5

In English this week, we have entered our writing phase. I am incredibly proud of the writing that everyone has produced this week! We have used our plans to create a flashback narrative piece of writing. Using the plans, we used a range of adjectives and adverbs to describe the events that happened to our chosen characters. We have used semi-colons to join two phrases together. After carefully constructing our transition sentences, we wrote our narratives cohesively, ensuring that each paragraph flows and our piece of writing made sense.

We have explored how to find percentages this week in maths. Using our times table knowledge, we have been able to divide the whole amount in order to find percentages of numbers. After that, we looked at angles and we used protractors to draw angles and solve problems.

During history this week, we have explored what it might have felt like to be evacuated. We thought about what the children would have been thinking and how they might have felt during the whole process. After listening to some real-life stories from people who were evacuated, we wrote letters home as if we were one of those people. In Science, we chose one of the groups of animals and used the internet safely to create a fact file about that chosen groups. We used the scientific vocabulary we learnt last week and enjoyed looking at each other’s creations.

In DT, we investigated what we needed to include for a circuit to work. We worked in small groups to create circuits using wires, cells, bulbs, motors and switches. This is good practice for when we create our funfair rides at the end of the topic. In our PE lesson, we used the equipment to practice our balancing skills. We jumped off the equipment and used the mats to improve our balancing skills.

On Tuesday, we had a visit from the fire brigade. We learnt all about how to stay safe in the event of a fire and what precautions we can take to help prevent one from breaking out. We learnt about how to stay safe whilst riding our bikes and how we should stay safe when taking a journey in the car.

“I enjoyed making the circuits and making the lightbulb light up.” – Denzell

“The fact files we made on the computer really helped me understand the type of animal I chose.” – Laci

“I liked writing the story in English because I learnt how to write in the past and present tense. I was really proud of myself when I used a semi-colon.” – Taylan

“When writing about the sea in English, it made me realise how quickly it can change from calm to stormy. I also like the maths because it has really tested my knowledge when finding percentages.” – Elsy

“I can’t wait to do more gymnastics in PE because I don’t get the opportunity to do it anywhere else.” – Chloe

“I like writing stories in English. I have even written my own story at home.” – Ruby

Autumn Two Week 4

This week in English, we have chosen a character to focus on from our story, A Story Like the Wind. We have written a diary entry as if we are that person and focussed on how that character feels when on the boat fleeing their country due to war. After we thought about what was happening in the present tense, we thought about a flashback memory that would make the character feel better. In our diary entries, we used transitional phrases and sentences to link the paragraphs together using both past and present tense. We ended the week by creating a plan based on that particular character, ready to start writing our flashback narrative next week.

In maths, we have been solving addition, subtraction, multiplication and division problems involving fractions. We have worked incredibly hard to use different strategies to find the answers to the problems. We are now confident in what needs to be done to find the answers to these problems. These new skills are really going to help when finding percentages next week!

During science, we have classified animals into different groups: mammals, fish, reptiles, arachnids, marsupials, myriapods, insects and amphibians. We created a mind map to help us for the different characteristics of each group and were able to sort the animals using what we knew about each group.

This week in our history lesson, we thought carefully about how children would have prepared for being evacuated during WW2. We looked inside the suitcase of a child from 1939 and studied the items carefully. We understood why they might have taken certain objects and how they would have made themselves feel better about the situation. After thinking about a child from 1939, we then thought about how we would feel if we had to be evacuated. In PE, we have worked in small groups to use what we learnt about push and pull forces to create new balances in a larger group.  In PSHE, we thought about what is meant to be ‘normal’ and discussed what this meant. Through mature conversation, we talked about what the term ‘normal’ means and what it might feel like if we were made to feel any different.

After looking at what Advent meant to Christians last week in RE, this week we have learnt about what each of the candles represent on the Christmas wreath. We produced a beautiful piece of work that was full of information about the candles.

“Maths was very fun and now I know how to solve problems involving fractions.” – Ruby

“PE has helped me become more confident when taking part in new sports.” – Olly

“In Junior Jam, I liked how we learnt how to play new games and how we learn how to create our own animation using the iPad.” – Taylan

“I have enjoyed learning about how people prepare for Christmas during the period of Advent.” – Elsy

“I enjoyed science because I like to learn about different animals.” – Lewis

“I liked how we learnt about what the evacuees packed in their suitcases and how they prepared. I really liked that there was an actual suitcase from an evacuee!” – Denzell

Autumn Two Week 3

In Science  this week, we have focused on classifying plants. The children have used classification keys to identify flowering and non-flowering plants and have created their own keys to identify different flowers.

Our maths lessons have continued with the fraction theme! We have learnt to turn improper fractions into mixed numbers and have added and subtracted fractions with different denominators.  The children have really persevered with this tricky topic and can now apply their newly learnt knowledge to solving problems involving fractions.

After learning about how WWII started, in history, the children have started to develop  their knowledge their knowledge of evacuation. We watched a short film with a first-hand account of what evacuation was like and applied this knowledge to write a diary entry. The children were able to apply their emotions and feelings and write as if they were being evacuated.

Our shared reading  lessons have been based around finding evidence from the text to support our inferences taken from the story Asha and the Spirit bird. The children have found evidence to support their impressions of characters and settings.  During English this week, we have started to analyse the features of a flashback narrative. We have written some truly wonderful descriptions of a setting and been apply to apply our knowledge of semi colons, expanded noun phrases and hyphens.

As always, Junior Jam was a great hit. We especially enjoyed our PE and computing lessons.  

What a good week!

Autumn Two Week 2

This week in English, we have started a new topic which is based about a book called ‘A story like the wind’. We thought carefully about the characters in the story and what they would experience whilst making their way across the ocean in the midst of a storm. Thinking about the noises they would hear, we created an onomatopoeia poem using sounds, expanded noun phrases and adverbial phrases.

We have been learning how to find fractions of amounts in maths this week. We now know the process to follow when find the fractions and have worked with increasingly more difficult amounts testing our knowledge. This has then been followed by learning how to find equivalent fractions. We played a game to help test our knowledge and completed a diamond puzzle identifying the simplified equivalences.

Our geography lesson this week has been the start of our new topic ‘WW2’. After learning about the main events that happened during this time period, we created a timeline stating the events in chronological order. In science, we have looked at different ways to group species of things. First, we looked at how we could use a Venn Diagram to help sort different leaves. We then used the computers to create a branching diagram to ask questions, leading to the correct type of leaf.

In PE, we have worked with partners to use our push and pull forces to create balances. We needed to trust our partners when conducting these balances and think carefully about how we can counteract weights creating steady balances.

On Monday, we started our computing topic using the iPads. Our aim is to create a game using a set of codes. We are going to build up our skills throughout this half term.

We have started a new Design Technology unit this week. We researched and compared what a 1920's funfair was like compared to a 2024 funfair. We thought about types of rides differed and how things have progressed with the improvement of technology. After collecting research from the other people in the class, we found out what the most popular type of ride was and thought about what type of ride we would like to create our of KNEX. 

We had a wonderful morning with a visitor from Blackburn Rovers on Tuesday. Catherine came to speak to us about anti-racism and how our actions can affect others. We took part in different activities, which made us really contemplate different aspects of inclusion and equality.

“I have enjoyed learning about fractions, and I feel like I can solve the problems easier.” – Olly

“I am excited to make our own games in computing with Junior Jam.” – Chloe

“In DT we needed to compare a 1920 funfair to a 2024 funfair. I can’t wait to create our own ride our of KNEX.” – Elsy.

Autumn Two Week 1

What an exciting week we have had in Year 6! The week began with a fantastic workshop about World War 1 where we could handle real objects that were used in the war. We tried on soldier’s uniforms, looked at photographs and investigated the stories of two men who lived in the area. It really sparked our interest into finding out how our own families were involved in the war and some of us have even found medals hidden in boxes in the attic! It was an amazing way to begin our history topic!

In English this week, we have looked at the song ‘What a Wonderful World and thought about the message behind the song. We then chose a theme and changed the song into something different. Some of us created poems such as ‘What a Spooky World’ and others created on using antonyms from the original song to create ‘What a Horrible World’. Once we had finished writing our poems, we really enjoyed sharing them with our friends.

We have continued developing our skills in division this week in maths. We have been working with much larger numbers and we are much more confident in our dividing abilities!

On Thursday it was Halloween! We made chocolate apples with sprinkles on and produced a piece of artwork. After choosing an oil painting to ‘spookify’ we thought carefully about which Halloween themed items we could add to them to subtly create a spooky painting.

Our week ended by watching Hidden Figures, which links with our chosen person to celebrate throughout Black History Month. We have conducted research and produced artwork about Katherine Johnson, who worked for NASA and made a huge difference to the world of inclusivity, so it was nice for us to watch the story unfold by watching the film.

“I have really enjoyed the activities we have done this week, it has been a good start to the new half term.”

“The World War One workshop really made me think about my own family and how they were involved in the war.”

“I feel really confident now I can divide using the methods we have learnt.”  

Autumn One Week 7

This week in English, we have finally finished our bravery award speeches that are dedicated to Rose Blanche! I am super proud of all the children because they have all written using formal language, included passive and active voice, improved their vocabulary and have written amazing tributes to Rose. After carefully writing our speeches in the neatest handwriting, we posted them to London where they will be read by a number of World War 2 experts.

In maths, we have learnt how to use the bus stop method to divide. Our use of times tables really helped us access the work and made it easier when dividing larger numbers. We will now be able to use our new skills to divide even larger numbers.

This week we have focussed on Black History in our PSHE lessons. We chose to learn about Katherine Johnson, who was a famous mathematician and worked for NASA, and created a non-chronological report about her. After using the internet to research other facts about her life, we created some beautiful double-page spreads about her life and realised how hard she had to work to be recognised in her field of work. We spoke a lot about inclusion, diversity, segregation and integration and had meaningful conversations about what life must have been like for her and others who were treated in that way.

We have learnt about climate change in geography this week. We learnt about the main causes of it and what different countries are doing to help slow down the process. We each chose a different country to research and presented our findings in different ways. In PE, we concluded our Athletics topic and held a mini sports tournament keeping track of how many of each event we managed to do in the time.

Finally, we fully enjoyed our time playing on the inflatable assault course on Wednesday! We celebrated our excellent behaviour and had the time of our lives!

“I really enjoyed English because it challenged me to do my best when using formal vocabulary and using everything we have learnt in our grammar lessons.” – Abdul

“Using the bus stop method to divide is an easier and more efficient way to solve the problems.” – Macie

“I like that we learnt some facts about Katherine Johnson. I learnt all about her difficulties in the world because of her skin colour; I don’t think it was fair at all!” – Chloe

“I enjoyed learning about how NASA changed its ways to suit people from different cultures.” – Denzell

“It is important to know the effects of climate change and what is being done to slow down the process.” – Elsy

Autumn One Week 6

We have been given a very important task to complete during our English lessons. After being contacted by a very special WW2 tribute organiser, we have been tasked with writing a bravery speech about Rose Blanche. Using what we know about Rose, we have worked hard to form the first part of our speech using formal language and carefully choosing our vocabulary. We are very excited to complete our speeches and send them away to be read out by some very important people.

During maths this week, we have learnt how to multiply 3-digit numbers by 2-digit numbers using the formal written method. By using our knowledge of times tables, we have carefully multiplied the numbers together to find the answers to tricky questions.

In science we investigated the world of selective dog breeding. Having previously learnt about inherited characteristics, we thought about why certain dog breeds are bred together to create a certain type of offspring. We created a leaflet which explained what selective breeding was and why people chose this way of creating new offsprings.

On Thursday it was Mental Health Awareness Day. We thought about what mental health was and how we could be kind to or mind. We made posters to inform other people about what mental health is and what we can do if we are feeling emotions that we feel uncomfortable with. We listened carefully to each other and respected each other’s views about how what works for each of us.

English (Bravery speech)

“I have enjoyed preparing to write the speech. I can’t wait for them to be sent to London!” - Taylan

Science (selective dog breeding)

“We thought about new breeds of dogs we would like. We chose which characteristics we would like to inherit in our pets.” - Amelia

Art (2D to 3D creations)

“I enjoyed creating the dog and making it 3D by making a stand.” – Carson

Autumn One Week 5

During English this week we have started to write a tribute speech about Rose Blanche. With a focus on formal language, the children have worked hard to use the passive voice to form the first part of their speech. They have been thinking carefully about all of the events that made Rose a hero during WW2 and how they can put it into words to ensure that everybody else knows. Our shared reading  lessons have been based around finding evidence from the text to support our inferences taken from the story Fireweed. 

Our maths lessons have been focussing on estimating the answer to addition and subtraction problems before using the most efficient method to find the answer. We have learnt different methods to solve problems, which include the use of number lines, formal written methods and compensating using our knowledge of numbers.

We have learnt about inherited characteristics during Science  this week. Through looking at Mr Men and Little Miss characters, we carefully thought about which characteristics the offspring would inherit from the parents.

After learning about biomes in geography, we focussed on two countries (Japan and Qatar) and compared them. Focussing on the climate, physical, human and other geographical features we compared the two countries we completed a table to show the differences and similarities. During art we continued to scale up the silhouettes of dogs and began to collage them using a piece of art taken from the Oliver Twist story. Through concentrating where the light would be on the dog, we gave the illusion that it was 3D.

PE

‘It is really to play mini matches, and I enjoy building up my skills whilst playing with my friends.’ – Carson

Junior Jam

‘I like how kind they are to us and how they stay calm.” – Alex

Elsy

‘I enjoyed using Mr Men and Little Miss in Science to show inherited characteristics from parents. We got to use our imagination when creating the offspring.’ – Elsy

English

‘We have to try our best in English whilst writing our speech about Rose Blanche. I hope they choose my speech to read at the remembrance tribute.’ – Taylan

Art

‘The art has been really fun. I chose the different shades to make my dog look 3D.’ – Chloe

Autumn week 4

During English this week we have been writing a diary entry as if we are Rose Blanche in the story. We have had to think carefully about how Rose felt when she found the concentration camp and what she thought when she saw the people behind the intimidating fence. We have used dashes for parenthesis to add details to our writing and included inverted commas to use speech. We are working hard to improve our vocabulary using word banks and thesauruses. During our shared reading we have created black-out poetry using the poem Dulce et Decorum est. By carefully choosing the words which mean the opposite of ‘sweet and proper’ we blackout out the rest of the poem. We realised that the poem is talking about the opposite of the title.

Our maths lessons have had the focus of addition and subtraction. We have successfully used number lines to partition numbers in order to add them efficiently. This has helped us when mentally adding numbers together. We were then able to develop these skills further to add and subtract more complex numbers.

Charles Darwin was the focus of our science lesson this week. We conducted an investigation thinking carefully about how the finches from the Galapagos Islands evolved their beaks over time. We created different shaped beaks with equipment and used a range of items which replicated different food types. Using these, we were then able to talk about how some adaptations have been more successful than others and what would happen to the animals if adaptations weren’t successful.

We have continued our work researching about the different biomes in geography. We worked in teams to create a double-page spread about a biome of our choice. Thinking carefully about the climate, animals and plant-life, we created some beautiful non-chronological reports about a biome of our choice.

During art this week we have used a silhouette of a dog and scaled it up using squared paper. We had to think carefully about what would be drawn in each of the boxes and we had to sketch it to ensure it replicated the original image we focussed on.

English (Rose Blanche)

“I like writing the diary because I can open my imagination.”  Denzell

“I have enjoyed learning about ways to improve my writing. I can now use semi-colons, colons and dashes for parenthesis.” Elsy

Maths  (Rounding)

“I can now use bridging to add and subtract tricky numbers.” Chloe

Geography (Biomes)

“I have enjoyed learning about the different biomes from around the world.” Lewis

“I am really proud of the work I created in geography. I enjoyed researching facts about the Tundra,” Denzell

PE (Junior Jam)

“The PE was really good because I love football and it helped me develop my passing skills,” Taylan

Autumn 1 Week 3 

In our English lessons this week we continued to explore the text of Rose Blanche. We have read more of the story and have thought carefully about the events throughout her life as the main character. Using colons and semi-colons, we have written detailed lists linking to how the soldiers looked and what the town would look like after the war. By looking at the detailed illustrations in the story and role playing the scenes, we have thought about how Rose would have felt and what she might have thought during the events. We then used inverted commas to write down what Rose might have said during these events.

At the start of the week, our maths lessons have been recapping our learning skills and extending them to rounding numbers to the neared 10,000,000 and numbers with 3 decimal places. We then worked hard to multiply and divide numbers by a power of 10. We used place value grids to assist our learning and gain a deeper understanding about what happens to our numbers when we divide and multiply the numbers by 10, 100 and 1000.  

During Science, we have continued with our Inheritance and Evolution topic and we explored how polar bears, penguins and sharks have adapted to suit their environments over thousands of years. We safely used the internet to explore other facts about these animals and their habitats.  

We have been learning about biomes during our geography lesson this week. Firstly, we labelled a world map of the continents, seas and oceans, the equator and other geographical features. This then lead into learning about the biomes from around the world. We researched facts about each of the biomes and created paragraphs in preparation for next week’s learning to take place.

English (Rose Blanche)

“I really enjoyed the role play during English because it let us be creative and allowed us to pretend to be a different person.”  Merida

“The role play was really good because it puts a picture in your mind about what’s happened in the story.” Alex

Maths  (Rounding)

“I really liked learning about the rounding in maths. I can now round numbers with 3 decimal places!” Abdul

Shared reading (Anne Frank’s diary)

“I really really really like shared reading because we are learning about my favourite subject- World War 2.” Denzell

RE (Journeys)

“I enjoyed the RE lesson because we got to think about our journeys and hear other peoples’ journeys. It was really interesting.” Carson

Autumn 1 Week 2 

In our English lessons this week we have been exploring the text of Rose Blanche. Thinking carefully about how Rose feels during different events in the story, we wrote a diary entry. We ensured that our diary entry included Rose’s thoughts and feelings about the soldiers taking over her town in Germany and used thesauruses to improve our vocabulary to have greater impact on the reader. We have also written a contrast poem where we compared Rose to one of the German soldiers. Through using antonyms, we were able to write a poem of contrasting feelings and thoughts.  

Our Maths lessons have been based around place value. We have been learning how to read and compare numbers above one million. Using place value grids, we have been able to introduce decimal numbers and have been using the more than and less than symbols to compare these numbers.  

During Science, we started our Evolution and Inheritance topic where, children began to explore how animals have evolved throughout time in order to survive in their environment. We thought carefully about how camels have adapted to suit the very harsh,  hot environment of the desert.  

Through talking about anti-racism and how we can be anti-racist in our actions, we have created a piece of artwork. We used photographs of people from different races and created a collage to represent that we are all part of the human race. We had very mature discussions about racism and respected each other’s views and opinions.  

English (Rose Blanche)  

“I really enjoyed writing the poem because it allowed me to show my creativity. I liked writing it about the Rose Blanche story because the pictures helped me to have a clear image in my mind.”  

“My writing was improved because I was taught how to use semi-colons in a list. I used some amazing adjectives to describe the items in my sentence.”  

Science (Evolution and Inheritance)  

“The adaptation song about the camel helped me to understand how camels have adapted to suit their environment.”  

PE (multi-sports)  

“I enjoyed the PE because it was made fair for everyone.” 

Autumn 1 Week 1 

In our English and art this week, we have based our learning around the poetry book ‘The Lost Words’.  We studied several poems with a focus on vocabulary then chose one we would like to focus on. We developed our vocabulary linked to this ‘lost word’, using the laptops, drafted our own version of the poem and then worked hard to produce a final version for our base display. We can’t wait to share it with you on our showcase day in October! In the afternoons, we sketched our own artwork based around the spectacular artwork in the book. We added colour and definition to our artwork using the watercolour paints. 

In Maths, our learning has been based around addition and subtraction. We built on our previous learning during our time at MJS and completed some challenges to further develop our learning.  

In the afternoons, we have completed learning in PSHE with a focus on respect and anti-racism.  On Wednesday afternoon, we were visited by the Lancashire Prevent Team, for a workshop on respect and tolerance.  The children have discovered new vocabulary and learnt about showing respect both in school and our local community. 

Finally, to wrap up a wonderful first week, we went on a school trip to Canalside. The children had great fun and completed activities such as canoeing, bushcraft and fire lighting, archery, orienteering and team building games. The weather stayed sunny for us and the behaviour of the children was exemplary.  

The Lancashire Prevent Team (PSHE): 

“These are some of the most respectful children I have ever come across. Their behaviour is the best I have experienced in a school.” 

Maths (formal method of subtraction): 

"I now understand how to exchange when solving subtraction problems and how to properly set out the questions using place value. It really helped when Miss Avery gave me the number grid."  

Canalside visit: 

“I have never had a toasted marshmallow before, it was very yummy! One of my favourite parts was standing up in the canoe. I felt scared at first, but I’m glad I was brave.”